NORTHBOROUGH – After several years of relatively low tax increases, projections released Monday call for taxes to escalate next year by nearly the same amount they collectively rose in the last four.

"In fiscal '15, we're kind of getting back to the way things were (several years ago)," Town Administrator John Coderre told selectmen Monday.

Coderre said by careful management and good planning, the town has managed to only hike taxes on the average single-family home a total of $233 in the last four years.

Coderre conservatively predicted a $218 rise in taxes for fiscal 2015 on the average singe-family home valued at $375,222.

"If state aid comes in higher … and if revenues come in higher than (our) conservative budget, then the number will go down before the tax rate is set in November," Coderre said.

Last year, for example, Town Meeting passed a budget that projected a $110 projected tax increase for the average single-family home, yet the actual increase ended up being much lower.

"Due to conservative estimates concerning state aid, strong economic development and the passage of the option hotel and meal tax, the actual tax impact for the average single-family home was only $44," Coderre wrote in his budget message to selectmen.

Coderre stressed that the last four years of success were based on sound financial practices – reducing the amount of rainy day money used in the operating budget, for example – and that those practices are only being refined.

The town recently instituted a "financial trend monitoring system" to track and plan for future big budget items, he said, such as staff increases and pension liability.

Part of the reason taxes were kept low was also because of economic development, Coderre said, a large part of which was due to the large Northborough Crossing complex. With that complex largely built out, the tax benefits from construction are fading.

Another thing that continues to minimize the tax increase, Coderre said, is insurance costs. Health insurance costs are only projected to rise by 1 percent for fiscal 2015, the product of changes to plan designs the town has negotiated with its unions in recent years.

Coderre said he's confident the town has identified all potential budget-busters and said officials will continue to work closely to make wise financial decisions.

"This budget process is very transparent," Selectman William Pantazis said, praising Coderre and his finance team for their work.

Overall, the town is looking at a $58.51 million fiscal 2015 budget, a 4 percent increase from the current year. That includes identical increases of 4.11 percent for both municipal departments and the schools, Coderre said.

Town Meeting will vote the budget next month.

Brad Petrishen can be reached at 508-490-7463 or bpetrishen@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @BPetrishen_MWDN.